Language is more than a means of communication between human beings. It’s the medium by which we transmit our ideas, knowledge and identity from one generation to the next.
Linguists estimate that we are living in a time of mass language extinction because every year many languages die out.
Currently there are 7.164 living languages in the world but it’s expected that 3.072 of them will disappear before the next century, because they are classified as endangered languages (43 % of the total).
UNESCO categorizes endangered languages by degree of risk:
Vulnerable: Languages spoken by all generations which are becoming less common among younger speakers. Quechua (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador)
Definitely Endangered: Children are no longer learning the language as their mother tongue. Welsh (Wales, United Kingdom)
Severely Endangered: Only older generations speak the language, with few middle-aged adults fluent. Tlingit (Alaska, USA)
Critically Endangered: Only a few elderly speakers remain, and they may only use the language occasionally. Ainu (Japan)
Extinct: Languages with no remaining speakers. Eyak (Alaska, USA)
Why are languages dying? The main reasons for language extinction are globalisation, non-transmission of a language between generations, lack of legal recognition of the language, economic authority and perceived prestige of certain language and climate crisis. So, what we are losing it’s not only language, but also identity and culture.
Extremadura has two minority languages: “ A Fala” and “Castuo”. Nowadays, A Fala is spoken by a small community in the region of Extremadura and Castúo isn’t spoken.Castúo was spoken in Zafra, Plasencia, Don Benito, Merida, Trujillo, Las Hurdes, Granadilla, and Coria. In larger cities like Cáceres and Badajoz, it was also spoken, but more due to culture than as a native language, and mainly by important people. Luis Chamizo used Castúo in his writings, it was the voice of the farmers of Extremadura.
The linguistic influence of these different groups, combined with the region’s relative isolation and unique cultural traditions, led to the development of a distinct dialect of Spanish known as Castúo. Castúo or “Extremeñu” is an endangered language. The UNESCO says that extremeñu is in her own black list, because it’s only transmitted orally. The United Nations declare that extremeñu is an endangered language because there isn’t any support or help to preserve it.
A Fala began to be spoken between the end of 12th and beginning of the 13th century. At the moment it ‘s spoken by about 6,000 to 10,000 people in northwestern Spain. It has three main dialects: Mañegu is used in San Martín de Trevejo, Lagarteiru is used in Eljas and Valverdeiru is used in Valverde del Fresno. It is preserved through oral tradition as well as recent revitalization efforts to promote its use.
Some examples of how it is spoken are: instead of “Buenos días” (Good morning) in Valverdeiru it’s said “Bon díi” and in Lagarteiru and Mañegu “Bon día”; instead of “¿De dónde eres?”(Where are you from?) it ‘s said “De únde yes?”. Each dialect has subtle phonetic and lexical differences influenced by the geography and local traditions of each village.
Why do we have to preserve endangered languages?:
1. Preservation of Cultural Diversity: When we save a language, we also save the culture that surrounds it.
2. Transmission of Ancestral Knowledge: Some of these languages contain traditional knowledge about some topics like medicine, agriculture or astronomy that are not recorded in any other language or written anywhere.
3. Strengthening Local Communities: Saving a language helps increase speakers’ confidence, especially in minority communities that have suffered discrimination, so it’s a way to empower these communities.
4. Promotion of linguistic diversity and Tolerance: Preserving a language helps build a society that is more tolerant, more inclusive and open to diversity.
PROJECTS TO PRESERVE ENDANGERED LANGUAGES
There are many projects in the world that try to preserve endangered languages. Among them we can highlight the following ones:
1.The Endangered Languages Project:https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/
This website has the option to upload video, audio or documents and the possibility of sharing your knowledge and experiences.
2. Atlas of Endangered Languages:https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000189453
UNESCO has created an online platform to consult information about the status of each language, the number of speakers, and the causes of its disappearance.
3. Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages: https://livingtongues.org/
It is dedicated to collecting documents especially through recordings of native speakers. It also has created tools, like apps and online dictionaries. And the institute conducts workshops to teach members of indigenous communities about techniques to document their languages.
There are other projects like First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC), The Rosetta Project, Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL International) National Geographic – Enduring Voices Project or Wikitongues. More information can be found on the websites.
MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS
The starting point to preserve this linguistic diversity are the following postulates, which can be considered as generally valid:
• Minority languages need speakers otherwise they will perish. It is necessary to be able to live and raise children in the respective minority areas. This requires a certain standard of living. Granting adequate autonomy has proven to be particularly effective.
These are the recommendations for the European Union and its Member States:
• It’s necessary to get as accurate information as possible on the number of minority language speakers and their language competences.
• Adult inhabitants of a minority area must be given the possibility to learn the minority language. Special courses sponsored by public funds can prove useful.
• Families remain the most important way of passing on minority languages as mother tongues. The role of families must be supported by the educational institutions.
• Minority languages should be taught in schools. The teaching of a minority language in a minority area should be made compulsory for all pupils.
• The European Union should promote the presence of minority languages in digital systems, in toponymy indications and public signs.
• Minority languages should be used in as many areas of daily life as possible, from administration to the media.
• Minority languages need a basic infrastructure: comprehensive dictionaries, school grammars and a corpus of texts.
• The establishment of a replicable and teachable standard variety is particularly effective.
In this changing world, minority languages only have a future if the motivation for their use and transmission takes into account its added value:
On the one hand, this added value lies in the individual advantages as a carrier of culture and identity, and a monetary value (e.g., in the labour market) and, on the other hand, in its social advantages as a generator of entire sectors of the economy – e.g., in education, in the cultural and creative industries, in tourism, … –).
Measures proposed in the European Union study: “Linguistic and cultural diversity – Minority and minoritized languages as part of European linguistic and cultural diversity”
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2023/751273/IPOL_STU(2023)751273_EN.pdf
Written by: Jose Julio Hernández, Laura Martín and Adriana Paramio (B2.1 students at EOI Plasencia)